Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel

Prunus species express different ranges and levels of resistance to the root-knot nematodes (RKN) Meloidogyne spp. In Myrobalan plum ( Prunus cerasifera), the dominant Ma gene confers a high-level and wide-spectrum resistance to the predominant RKN, Meloidogyne arenaria, Meloidogyne incognita, Meloidogyne javanica and the isolate Meloidogyne sp. Florida which overcomes the resistance of the Amygdalus sources. In Japanese plum ( Prunus salicina), a similar wide-spectrum dominant resistance gene, termed R(jap), has been hypothesized from an intraspecific segregating cross.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) have been implicated in the development of diabetic complications. We report the antiglycating activity of chebulic acid (CA), isolated from Terminalia chebula on breaking the cross-links of proteins induced by AGEs and inhibiting the formation of AGEs. Aminoguanidine (AG) reduced 50% of glycated bovine serum albumin (BSA) with glycolaldehyde (glycol-BSA)-induced cross-links of collagen at a concentration of 67.8 ± 2.5 mM, the level of CA required for exerting a similar antiglycating activity was 38.8 ± 0.5 µM.

We examined structural properties of poly d(C4A2).d(T2G4), the telomeric DNA sequence of the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena. Under conditions of high negative supercoiling, poly d(C4A2).d(T2G4) inserted in a circular plasmid vector was preferentially sensitive to digestion with S1 nuclease. Only the C4A2 strand was sensitive to first-strand S1 cutting, with a markedly skewed pattern of hypersensitive sites in tracts of either 46 or 7 tandem repeats.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) required for maintenance of telomeres. Although up-regulated telomerase activity is closely linked to the cellular immortality characteristic of late stage carcinogenesis, recently, mutations in the telomerase RNA gene in humans have been associated with dyskeratosis congenita and aplastic anemia, both typified by impaired haemopoietic function. These mutations include base changes in a highly conserved putative telomerase RNA pseudoknot.

Although there is evidence to link schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) to genetic and environmental factors, specific individual or groups of genes/factors causative of the disease have been elusive to the research community. An understanding of the molecular aberrations that cause these mental illnesses requires comprehensive approaches that examine both genetic and epigenetic factors.

Endoperoxide antimalarials based on the ancient Chinese drug Qinghaosu (artemisinin) are currently our major hope in the fight against drug-resistant malaria. Rational drug design based on artemisinin and its analogues is slow as the mechanism of action of these antimalarials is not clear. Here we report that these drugs, at least in part, exert their effect by interfering with the plasmodial hemoglobin catabolic pathway and inhibition of heme polymerization. In an in vitro experiment we observed inhibition of digestive vacuole proteolytic activity of malarial parasite by artemisinin.

A cell-free system from Plasmodium falciparum able to translate endogenous mRNA was used to determine the effect of artemisinin, chloroquine and primaquine on the protein synthesis mechanism of the parasite. The antimalarial drugs did not inhibit the incorporation of [3H] methionine into parasite proteins even at concentrations higher than the ones found to strongly inhibit the parasite growth. Results clearly indicate that these compounds do not have a direct effect on protein synthesis activity of P. falciparum coded by endogenous mRNA.

Despite international efforts to 'roll back malaria' the 2008 World Malaria Report revealed the disease still affects approximately 3 billion people in 109 countries; 45 within the WHO African region. The latest report however does provide some 'cautious optimism'; more than one third of malarious countries have documented greater than 50% reductions in malaria cases in 2008 compared to 2000.